Scottsdale-based Encora software services firm names new CEO
Scottsdale-based Encora has named Anand Birje as its new CEO, effective May 15, the software engineering services company announced on Wednesday.
Birje most recently served as president of the digital business services division for HCLTech, an information technology company headquartered in India.
Birje succeeds Encora’s founding CEO Venu Raghavan, who will remain with the company as executive chairman, according to a company release.
Since founding Encora in 2005, Raghavan has expanded the company’s technical capabilities, geographic footprint and workforce, which has more than 9,000 employees worldwide.
“It is my great honor to welcome Anand to Encora as our next CEO. His deep experience in fast-growing tech and in scaling global businesses through exponential growth, makes him the ideal leader for Encora,” Raghavan said in a statement. “Speaking personally, I am heartened to entrust the future of Encora — a company that has been my enduring privilege to build — to a leader of Anand’s experience, insight, integrity, and compassion. I look forward to working closely with Anand to help drive Encora’s strategic priorities.”
Encora did not disclose the reason for Raghavan’s decision to step down as CEO aside from stating he would take on a “more strategic role” within the company as executive chairman.
Birje said in a statement that he would continue to scale Encora by further developing its investment strategy to spur new markets and partnerships.
“As new and emerging digital technologies transform the global economy, there is a growing need for technology partners with mastery across technical, strategic, and industry-specific domains,” Birje said in a statement. “Encora stands out as a paragon of what is possible when unparalleled technical expertise is cultivated in a people-centric culture that is truly global and authentically diverse.”
While at HCLTech, Birje focused on digital applications & platforms, cloud native development, data consulting, engineering and analytics and UX design practices. He also played a pivotal role in growing HCLTech’s infrastructure services division and spearheaded strategic acquisitions to expand delivery and consulting capabilities in the U.S. and Europe, according to Encora’s announcement.
Encora provides technology companies with services including predictive analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud and test automation. Encora, which is backed by private equity firm Advent International, operates more than 40 offices and labs worldwide.
Over the past five years, Encora has expanded its global delivery footprint via acquisitions of four companies: Daitain, Avantica, Nearsoft, and Söoryen Technologies, all of which added “significant technical expertise and geographical coverage in Latin America and India,” according to the company.
In January, Encora acquired Excellarate, a global technology services firm headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania — a move the company said would boost its expertise in healthtech, fintech and insuretech, the Business Journal previously reported.